Always looking beyond the words on the page, THORBJORN BARR brings depth, texture, and humanity to his roles be it as “Jarl Bord” in the acclaimed series “Vikings” or on stage for his award-winning turns in plays like “Orphans” and “The Glass Menagerie” or on the big screen with roles in “Reprise”, “22 July” or his latest as “Stein” in THE TUNNEL.
Following in the tradition of Roar Uthaug’s “The Wave” and John Andreas Andersen’s “The Quake”, in Pal Oie’s THE TUNNEL, Thorbjorn plays first-responder Stein who risks his own life to save those trapped inside a tunnel when a tanker truck crashes in the Norwegian mountains during a blizzard. With travelers heading home for Christmas, and only one way in and one way out, the situation becomes even graver when an explosion occurs, filling the tunnel with deadly smoke. But for Stein, the urgency for rescue is even greater when he learns that his daughter is one of those trapped in THE TUNNEL.
But Thorbjorn isn’t just a force on screen or on stage. He is also a playwright and theatre director, as well as one-half of the Norwegian musical duo, Harr & Hartberg, who are celebrating the release of their latest album, Scar.
I spoke with Thorbjorn at length about THE TUNNEL and his role as Stein, the development of the father-daughter dynamic with Norwegian actress Ylva Fuglerud, the research and firefighting training he went through to prepare for the role, shooting practically and on location (no green screen here, folks!), as well as his music career and current album, and plenty of upcoming projects, including a series on Netflix we can all enjoy now.
TAKE A LISTEN. . .
by debbie elias, exclusive interview April 6, 2021
